Why has Tennessee football been recruiting so well?

Tennessee is looking to recapture its glory from the 1990s. Join us daily at SEC Country for the latest Tennessee recruiting news and notes on the next crop of Volunteers. In this edition, we discuss just how well Tennessee’s recruiting is going right now.

Tennessee still tops recruiting in SEC

KINGSPORT, Tenn. — In front of a crowd of more than 1,000 Tennessee fans Tuesday night at the Kingsport Farmers Market at the Big Orange Caravan stop in the Tri-Cities, coach Butch Jones talked about the state of the football program.

In the midst of him defending his now somewhat infamous “5-star hearts” comment about the 2017 recruiting in February, Jones made maybe the most noteworthy comment about how the Vols have been recruiting for the Class of 2018.

Jones’ statement happens to be very accurate as well. The Vols recruiting so well isn’t a secret by any means, but hearing the coach say it has to be refreshing for the fan base.

The comment came just one day after Jones’ players spent time defending their coach’s job at Tennessee. Defensive tackle Kendal Vickers went as far as to say the questions were “a little disrespectful.”

The hot-seat talk has not slowed Tennessee’s ability to bring in talent in great numbers, though.

Tennessee has taken 17 commitments for this class. The Vols’ class currently ranks No. 3 in the country and No. 1 in the SEC, according to the 247Sports composite.

Alabama has six commitments and ranks No. 11 in the SEC by comparison.

Why has Tennessee done so well?

Jones and his staff have obviously made a point of bringing the top in-state talent to Knoxville. The Vols have secured commitments from six of the top nine players in the Volunteer State.

Tackle Jerome Carvin ranks as the No. 10 player in the state and Tennessee continues to be one of the favorites, along with Alabama, to land the offensive lineman.